Parametric study to implement a water-weakening process in UDEC

Abstract

Despite the prevalence and validity of the universal distinct element code (UDEC) in simulations in geotechnics domain, water-weakening process of rock models remains elusive. Prior research has made positive contributions to a presupposed link between modelling parameters and saturation degree, Sr. Nevertheless, this effort presents inaccurate results and limited implications owing to the misleading interpretation, that is, devoid of the basic logic in UDEC that modelling parameters should be calibrated by tested macroscopic properties in contrast to a presupposed relation with Sr. To fill this gap, a new methodology is proposed by coupling a computationally efficient parametric study with the simulation of water-weakening mechanisms. More specifically, tested macroscopic properties with different Sr values are input into parametric relations to acquire initial modelling parameters that are sequentially calibrated and modulated until simulations are in line with geomechanical tests. Illustrative example reveals that numerical water-weakening effects on macroscopic properties, mechanical behaviours, and failure configurations are highly consistent with tested ones with noticeable computational expediency, implying the feasibility and simplicity of this methodology. Furthermore, with compatibility across various numerical models, the proposed methodology substantially extends the applicability of UDEC in simulating water-weakening geotechnical problems.